knife

Chapter 839 (Final Chapter): The Days Ahead Are Still Long

Everyone thought they were about to witness a brutal and fierce final battle, but it ended in a very anticlimactic way, lasting only a short while.

The fact that Linghu Ye and Li Guohua died on the battlefield in an instant caused even their most loyal subordinates to lose all will to fight on.

Because the god in their hearts is gone.

After Linghu Ye and Li Guohua fell, the tens of thousands of troops on both flanks turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

They had been prepared to flee, so the transition from fighting to fleeing was incredibly smooth, thanks in no small part to the cooperation of their opponents.

The army of the Beiting Protectorate did not seize this opportunity to beat the dog when it was down. In Li Dachui's words, "Put down your weapons, and you will all be subjects of the new Qin Dynasty."

The remaining men of Linghuye's central army surrendered.

Xiao Changche stepped forward and guaranteed that they and their families would not be held accountable for their crimes, and that they and their families would be allowed to retain the land and property that Linghu Ye had given them around Chang'an after they entered the pass.

Li Dachui may not have much credibility in front of these people, but Xiao Changche certainly does.

If such a group were to fight to the death, they would cause great trouble for the Beiting Protectorate. With victory already assured, there was absolutely no need to sacrifice loyal subordinates for these people. Moreover, these people could not be sent too far away. They were organized and had fighting power. If they were sent far away, it would cause another catastrophe if trouble broke out. Therefore, keeping them under the nose of Chang'an was the best solution.

This would both demonstrate the benevolence and righteousness of the new dynasty and nip any potential problems in the bud.

After the battle in Boling County was decided, Wang De immediately rode alone from Fanyang. Li Dachui and Xiao Changche warmly received their former colleague and even personally greeted him outside the camp.

Upon seeing the two men, Wang De, who jokingly described his life as walking on thin ice, immediately prostrated himself on the ground, bowing deeply and proclaiming that he was a sinner who had come to beg for forgiveness.

However, this general, who wanted to go home and live a comfortable old age as a wealthy man, did not get his wish. He was immediately appointed by Li Dachui as the vanguard general of the Beiting Protectorate Army heading south. He would lead his troops south first, to be the vanguard of Li Dachui's main force, to clear the way through mountains and build bridges over rivers.

Wang De accepted the new task with a long face.

This position of former general was certainly not easy to hold. To put it bluntly, Li Dachui entrusted him with all the dirty and tiring work on the way to Chang'an.

It is conceivable that along the way, there will be many places and people who oppose Li Dachui, and Wang De's task is to make these people disappear.

Before he even reaches Chang'an, Wang De will likely be the target of countless people's attention.

But he had no choice; he had to do it, and he had to do it even better than Li Dachui expected.

Many people want this opportunity, but they can't get it!
Yang Rong's troops in Shapingba collapsed on the very night they received the news.

The Li family's elite soldiers were relatively benevolent; their leader bid farewell to Yang Rong before leaving, while the other aristocratic families' armies turned and fled.

It's no longer about who's braver or stronger in combat; it's about who can run the fastest.

If you can outrun your companions, you have a chance to live longer.

Yang Rong did not flee; he went to see Chang Jian alone.

Since Li Dachui's victory was no longer in doubt, he had to accept reality. As a master of innate cultivation, he still had enough leverage to negotiate with his opponent and see if he could sell himself and the Yang family for a good price. Although he knew it would definitely be a losing proposition, as long as he didn't lose everything and still had some capital left, there was still a spark of hope.

At the end of June, the Battle of Boling ended. Linghu Ye and Li Guohua were killed in battle, and the 200,000-strong army either died, surrendered, or perished.

In early July, Wang De led his troops as the vanguard of the Beiting Protectorate, with Zhang Ruo as the supervising officer, marching south. Along the way, he pacified the prefectures and counties with proclamations, and any remaining resistance forces were wiped out by Wang De's army.

In August, Cui Cheng, the military commissioner of Luoyang, and Li Xiu, the general of the Xiangfan garrison, joined forces and advanced towards Chang'an. In the same month, Zhang Songlin, the prefect of Shu, and General Wu De led 30,000 troops from Shu to defeat the imperial garrison in Hanzhong, crossed the Qinling Mountains, and approached Chang'an.

In mid-August, Emperor Li Rui of the Great Qin Dynasty, who had been on the throne for less than two years, issued an edict of self-reproach and respectfully invited his uncle, Li Dachui, to the capital. Soon after, Zhang Songlin, Cui Cheng, Wu De, Li Xiu, and others led their troops into Chang'an and began to take over the defense of Chang'an and the surrounding area.

At the end of August, Wang De and Zhang Ru led their troops back to Beijing.

At the end of September, Li Dachui entered the capital. The young emperor went out of the city ten miles to greet him, trembling and almost pale. In front of countless soldiers and civilians, he removed his crown and robes and abdicated the throne.

At the end of October, the emperor of Southern Chu announced his abdication. In the following month, the thirty-six counties of Southern Chu announced their annexation into the Great Qin. Each county sent a large contingent led by its governor to Chang'an to participate in Li Dachui's enthronement ceremony, which was scheduled for March of the following year. Even Shang Rong, who was far away in the southwest, was no exception. After entrusting a number of matters to Cheng Zhen and Qian Yiding, he immediately set off.

After the fall of the Dayong Dynasty, the country was divided between the north and south for more than 300 years before finally being unified again. Moreover, the territory was even larger than that of Dayong. After destroying the Northern Yuan, it expanded its territory northward by thousands of miles, and the south successfully implemented the policy of replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials, turning all the previously controlled territories into real territory.

An unprecedented empire is rising on this land.

In the twelfth lunar month, heavy snow fell, and even the official roads were covered with several feet of snow, with two deep ruts stretching into the distance.

At the end of the road lies Chang'an, the residence of the emperor.

People from the villages on both sides of the road rushed out of their houses out of curiosity, braving the heavy snow and cold wind, to see the long convoy stretching as far as the eye could see on the road.

This is a team composed of more than twenty counties from the former Southern Chu, led by Jiang Qian. As for those more distant counties, they probably won't arrive until next year. But even now, it's enough to make everyone take notice.

After all, those flags flying high clearly identified these people.

A rider came from afar and went straight to the luxurious carriage in the middle of the procession, pulled by eight solid-colored horses.

Inside the carriage, it was warm and cozy. Jiang Qian, leaning against the cushions, looked at the man kneeling opposite her and smiled, "You mean, Xiao Changche's entourage will enter the city at the same time as ours?"

The man nodded and said, "Yes."

Jiang Qian smiled and said, "What a coincidence! Mr. Jiang, what do you think we should do?"

Jiang Chong said proudly, "We will not back down. Holy Maiden, we cannot back down. You represent the thirty-six counties of the South, and everyone is watching you! General Xiao is indeed highly accomplished, but you are no less so. Let's speed up and get there before her. Even if we are just one step ahead, we must be the first to arrive!"

Jiang Qian picked up a cup of tea from the table, took a small sip, and said, "She's the legitimate wife and has even given birth to a prince. What am I? Why should I fight over this momentary grievance? What's wrong with letting her go first? There's plenty of time in the future!"

Jiang Chong glanced at Jiang Qian and said, "Holy Maiden, speaking of princes, aren't you pregnant with one too? His Majesty hasn't appointed an Empress yet, so it's still hard to say who the legitimate son will be!"

Jiang Qiange laughed and said, "Lord Jiang is overthinking it. Send down the order to set up camp here and not move. We'll wait until General Xiao's troops enter the city before we leave tomorrow!" At the same time, in another direction, in another group of people.

Sitting in the carriage, Xiao Changche was carefully wiping his devil mask when he heard the news that he would arrive at the same time as Jiang Qian. He thoughtfully put down the mask.

"This is blatant provocation! It's outrageous!" Luo Hua roared in anger. "Who does she think she is, daring to compete with you?"

Xiao Changche smiled slightly and said, "Based on her single-handed efforts in bringing the thirty-six southern prefectures into the Great Qin, such merit is indeed beyond my reach. So, what harm is there in letting her go first? Order the three armies to set up camp on the spot and let her enter the city first!"

“Protector, you are the rightful mistress of the house and have a prince. No matter what, you should not give her what is rightfully yours. You should fight for what is rightfully yours!” Tu Jiaojiao shook her head and said.

Xiao Changche smiled and said, "During the Battle of Yangguan, I told Li Dachui that I didn't care to compete with others for it!"

“It’s not that we don’t care, it’s that we disdain it!” Luo Hua corrected.

"That's settled then, let's set up camp!"

Tu Jiaojiao nodded, turned around and got out of the carriage.

Inside the car, Luo Hua said resentfully, "I want to see if Jiang Qian dares to enter the city first, and I also want to see if Li Dachui will come to greet you! If he doesn't come to greet you, we won't enter the city, we'll go back to the border!"

"Don't say such hurtful things!" Xiao Changche chuckled. "My temper has calmed down now, but yours is getting worse!"

At the city gate, two generals stood on either side of the gate, their eyes almost crossed, while the garrison captain stood in the middle. Despite the cold wind howling in the freezing weather, the captain's forehead was covered in a thick layer of cold sweat.

On the battlefield, killing enemies and defeating traitors was never a problem for him, but today he was at a loss for what to do.

Xiao Dongwei, with one eye, gripped his knife and sneered.

Li Xiu, arms crossed and head tilted back, snorted.

They were all people he couldn't afford to offend.

The Imperial Palace, the inner palace
Li Dachui listened to the news brought by Li Kaixin in a daze.

Is it such a coincidence?
"Godfather, what should we do?" He looked at Zhou Zhi.

Zhou Zhiyi shrugged, "They're both my children. One already has a grandchild, and the other is pregnant with one. I can't favor one over the other."

"Master, can you help me make a decision?"

He turned to look at Yu Entai.

Yu Entai coughed lightly: "One helped you pacify the area beyond the Great Wall and start from scratch, while the other helped you stabilize the South and achieve the unification of the world. I really can't weigh which is more important."

"The Grand Secretary!"

Turning to look at Mao Daxian, Mao Daxian chuckled and said, "Just follow your heart!"

Li Dachui spat, his words were as good as nothing.

Looking at Gu Xiaoman and Fang Xiaomao, the two of them clasped their hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, we still have some matters to attend to, so we will take our leave now!"

With a turn, it ran faster than a rabbit.

Li Dachui sighed deeply and sat down with a thud. What should he do?
"Your hard times are yet to come!" Zhou Zhi patted his shoulder sympathetically and walked out of the study.

Yu Entai nodded: "These wives are all too outstanding, they really are a headache!"

As he spoke, he swayed away, carrying the books in his arms.

"The most difficult thing to bear is the favor of a beautiful woman!" Mao Daxian picked up a large stack of old memorials and said, "Your Majesty, you can think of a solution yourself. I'll go take care of my business first!"

So, only Li Dachui remained in the room.
-
It's finished!
Some readers have criticized the book for starting strong but ending weakly, but I don't accept that.

Because by the end, all the enemies were dead and all the territory had been captured, so it was time to end. Forcing out dozens or hundreds more chapters wasn't impossible, but unnecessary; it would just be a superfluous addition.

This is the first book I wrote after recovering from my illness.

I wouldn't call it a success, but I still wrote it very carefully.

I think it's watchable to pass the time.

I originally planned to stop writing after finishing this book, but when I actually finished it, I suddenly felt empty inside, as if I had lost something.

Upon reflection, I suddenly realized that writing has become a habit of mine.

I started writing on Qidian in 2003. My first novel was a wuxia novel called *Tian Gang*. I was so young back then!
Before I knew it, I had grown old. I've written nearly 30 million words; writing something every day has become a habit.

So I will continue writing.

There's a long road ahead! How can I just sit around doing nothing?
One reader commented that I am just like Gao Yue, only concerned with writing and not reflecting, and thinking about it, it is indeed true.

So for the next few months, I will reflect on this, read other people's books, and learn from their strengths.

The next book won't be set in a fictional world.

We'll have to invite all our old friends to come and support us!

So, friends, see you in the second half of the year!
(End of this chapter)